Following the invasion by the Turkish state and their allied gangs, hundreds of thousands of people from Afrin left their lands and migrated to Shehba. Since the invasion, Afrin has been going through the darkest and roughest time in its history.

There were some who believed the Turkish state’s claims that the region is safe and they could return. One of those people, who wishes to remain anonymous, is from the Shiye district of Afrin. He said they were tricked by the Turkish state as they said there would be a new connection between Afrin and Shehba. On the situation of the civilians under Turkish army and gang tyranny, he said the civilians are living through hell.

The civilian spoke to ANHA about his return to Afrin and the consequent “escape from hell” back out. He said he was blindfolded and abducted by the Turkish soldiers and their gangs on the first day he returned. He was tortured severely and the gangs and soldiers asked for $ 10.000 in ransom even though his family wasn’t in a position to pay that amount of money.

The civilian said the following on the torture methods used by the gangs: “They tied my hands and wrists to a tree. They tortured me with a device called a bilanko. They hang people from ropes on the ceiling by their arms and whip them.”

The civilian said the rope he was bound with broke due to the intensity of the torture, and a piece was torn out of his body after he fell to the ground: “They hit me so hard that my skull was cracked. And they maimed my hand so I wouldn’t forget.” The civilian added that another civilian he knew as Sahin died in torture.

After he was released by the gangs, he was imprisoned along with 17 others in Shiye: “They took me to the Qermitliq village in the Jindirese district and they asked for another $10.000 in ransom. I told them I have no money, all I have is a rusty car. They took my car and released me.”

According to the information provided by the civilian, he was questioned by two gang members named Ebu Emsha El-Sêf and Ebu Hisên. He said the following on what he witnessed:

“The invaders killed a civilian named Ehmed Shexo from the Shiye district during torture. After his family received Shexo’s body, the people from the district protested the death and the people wanted to hold a march. The Turkish soldiers had the funeral procession surrounded.”

The civilian said the invaders also surrendered the tent set up for offers of condolences and that they are not allowing anybody to take photographs or videos: “The invaders pressured the family to say Ehmed Shexo died from an illness and not due to torture.” In another incident he witnessed, female members of the Xilî family in the Shiyê district were abducted and tortured before being released several days later.

The civilian concluded with saying the youth and all civilians live in fear in Afrin and added: “At night we would sleep in the fields or the desert so we wouldn’t be abducted. I lived this way until I left Afrin and reached safe areas.”